Chapter 157 ↦ Take Their Clothes Off And… Photos!

Mio returned to her room.

"Thank you very much." Houtarou said before walking out.

Knowing Kei hadn't returned to her room, he followed after her.

She walked alone toward the basement, stopping in an empty corner.

"As expected, I still haven't changed anything." She sighed.

She took out her phone. There weren't many contacts in it — just some gyaru girls from Class D.

As their leader, she naturally had their numbers, along with Kikyō's.

Though she didn't get along with the boys in class, there was one boy's number she kept: Houtarou Oreki.

She stared at his number for several moments, then crouched down with her face on her knees, one hand gripping her phone.

"As expected, I can't do anything..." She muttered dejectedly.

"If you want to see me, now would be fine." Houtarou said.

"Kyyaa—" Kei startled, her phone flying from her hand.

Houtarou caught it mid-air with a soft click.

He handed it back to her.

"Um, thank you Houtarou." Kei said quickly, "Thank you for everything today. Even asking Ibuki specially to help."

"Why do you say that?" He asked.

"Because I know, right? I'm not likeable — who would come save me? And Ibuki isn't someone who'd suddenly get involved."

She had figured out he was the one helping.

"With Sakura's situation before, I handled it poorly, and now I can't even deal properly with the Class C girls." She said, her voice low.

"So, what's the real story?" Houtarou crouched beside her.

"Um... Before the island exam at school, I went to a bubble tea shop with Satō and the others. When Satō went to the bathroom, I was in line. I had to step away for something, and when I came back, Class C girls had taken my spot. I was going to line up again, but then the girls returned... So..."

It was as he had expected.

She needed to maintain her tough image in front of her friends.

And it was the same with Airi. Even when Kei wasn't alone, she felt compelled to act tough in front of her "friends" to meet their expectations.

Indeed, while people adopt protective personas, these bring their own troubles — like one lie requiring countless more to maintain it.

Kei had crafted a strong image for herself, one she now had to constantly maintain.

"When things happen..." Houtarou considered for a moment.

From how she deliberately kept her distance from him in the Rabbit Group, he could tell she wanted to handle things independently.

But her solution was always the same: act fierce and appear strong. She thought that by intimidating others, she could ward off trouble.

This strategy might work on timid students like Chihiro from Class B. However, the students at this school weren't ordinary — they were specially selected. They weren't so easily intimidated.

So these tactics weren't sufficient.

"I'll continue to protect you." He said, "But don't feel burdened. I'll need your help with things too, so it's mutually beneficial."

In other words, Kei had avoided troubling him before by trying to handle everything herself.

But those actions would only lead to more problems. It was better for him to intervene now and address potential issues.

In the current situation, Rokusuke only needed to protect his obtained points to avoid expulsion.

But for Houtarou, all first-year students were potential sources of points. Class D's situation needed proper arrangement.

However, even though he had brought in Mio to keep Shiho's group in check, tensions would persist between them and Kei unless the situation was fully resolved.

So, this matter needed to be addressed first.

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At 9 PM, Houtarou returned to room 204.

However...

"Oreki-kun, you're quite late today~"

Honami had already arrived and noticed his tardiness.

"Oh... books." She said, spotting what he carried.

"I'm still sticking to outcome 1 as the final plan." Houtarou said, "So I won't participate in the other discussions."

"Oh, okay." Honami nodded gently.

But there was slight hesitation on her face.

"Um, about today's Monkey Group exam..." She seemed puzzled.

Around 6:30, the Monkey Group exam had ended abruptly, leaving everyone confused.

Though fortunately, their class had no VIPs in the Monkey Group. When they questioned the teacher, they were told they wouldn't learn who had ended the exam early or the identity of the Monkey Group's VIP.

Such actions made people uneasy. For Class B, it meant losing a direct opportunity to identify VIPs from other classes.

"This was Class D's Kōenji ending the exam early." Houtarou said.

"Oh, Kōenji..."

When Honami spoke that name, the two Class B students behind her wore grave expressions.

Apparently, Rokusuke had occupied 34 bases on the island, then seized their base at 2 AM, forcing them to relocate in the middle of the night. The experience had left them traumatized.

The mood in the room was tense.

Class B viewed Kōenji as toxic. Class A maintained their stance of non-discussion. As for Class C, with Mio having intimidated Shiho's group, they kept their distance from her.

Meanwhile, Class D remained unaware that Kōenji had ended the exam early, content to occupy themselves with their phones during the lack of discussion.

And so concluded the Rabbit Group's second discussion.

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After the hour-long discussion ended, Houtarou didn't return to the dorm. Instead, he waited.

He had arranged to meet with Suzune.

His objective was straightforward — resolve the ongoing situation between Kei and Shiho's group.

Though Mio had temporarily subdued them, they would inevitably cross paths again at school. The matter needed proper resolution.

Moreover, Shiho's group could prove useful. They were typical bullies — preying on the weak while cowering before the strong. Their fear of Mio proved how easily controlled they could be. They would make perfect spies within Class C.

Standing on the deck, Houtarou spotted Suzune running toward him.

"..."

With her jet-black straight hair and fox-like eyes, Suzune looked graceful even while running.

Her haste wasn't without reason.

"What is it?" She asked, having rushed over after the group discussion, "Did something go wrong with the plan—"

"The 40 million point plan remains secure." Houtarou said.

"Then what's so urgent?" Suzune asked, puzzled.

"I need you to demonstrate violence."

"...Violence?" She looked at him strangely, "I only know karate — that's not violence."

"Karate will suffice." Houtarou said, "I'll arrange a meeting with three Class C girls. I want you to defeat them without causing injury — or simply demonstrate your strength."

"But using force..." Suzune hesitated, concerned about school rules.

Combat skills?

"This is about planting spies in Class C." He explained, "When Ryūen opened communication between Class C and other classes, he likely wanted to check for spies first. With this VIP exam being crucial, information leaks can't be risked. The spy I previously planted was discovered by Ryūen. He's already done one round of spy-cleaning and won't do another so soon. We can use this window of opportunity."

These words were a bit convoluted. Put simply, it meant now was the time to plant spies in Class C.

Looking at Suzune's expression, he continued.

"You need to understand our goal. After this exam, all classes will be rolling in points — they'll be fattened up. With insiders, it will be easy for us to harvest them."

"Is that so? You're still as devious as ever." Suzune said, though she was undeniably tempted.

This was an 80-90 million Point plan. Since Houtarou was taking half the profits, that meant 40 million Points for them.

Though the Monkey Group was now used for verification, causing them to lose 7-8 million points, even if they abandoned another group, they would still end up with close to 40 million Points.

With her 10% cut, she could receive around 4 million Points as payment.

And this was just the first harvest. A second wave would come, since the other 40 million remained in the students' hands.

Didn't they want those Points too?

They did. With another 4 million, Suzune would have nearly 10 million — getting very close to her 20 million point goal, plus the class's total of 50 Class Points...

The progress was accelerating rapidly. How could she not be tempted?

It was impossible to resist.

"Alright." She quickly agreed to his request, "But I just need to subdue them?"

"No." Houtarou said emotionlessly, "I want you to take photos of them."

"Photos?" Suzune seemed confused.

"Have them take off their clothes and take photos. We can't trust Class C students too much. We need leverage."

"...What books have you been reading lately? Why do you suddenly have this kind of idea?"

"...Ichinose recommended some doujinshi to me."

"...?"

Doujinshi? She didn't understand this term.

But Suzune knew that no one wants their photos spread around. Once photos were taken, they would have to obey.

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